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ODOT set to install medians at intersections with bypass

Left turns will be blocked from Second Street onto Highway 219, from Wilsonville Road to Springbrook Road

Some drivers who currently use either East Second Street or Wilsonville Road to get to Highway 219 may find their normal paths stymied in the near future.

New medians are slated to be installed this month at Highway 219 and East Second Street as well as at Wilsonville and Springbrook roads — and anyone accustomed to taking a left onto Highway 219 or Springbrook Road will soon be out of luck — according to a press release from the Oregon Department of Transportation.

"The median islands will limit movements to right turns only at Second Street and (Highway) 219, and at Wilsonville and Springbrook roads," the release states. "Left turns will not be allowed with construction of the islands."

The new medians are being installed as part of Phase 1 of the Newberg-Dundee bypass project that is slated to open by the end of the year.

The medians are being installed to make traffic coming to and from the bypass flow more safely and smoothly through the two intersections — which can already stack up with cars waiting to turn left during high traffic times currently.

The release notes that the new medians do not have adjoining crosswalks and will not be accessible to pedestrians.

Construction is almost complete on Springbrook Road, which will serve as the conduit to carry traffic from Highway 99W to Highway 219 and onto the bypass until Phase II connects directly to Highway 99W near Rex Hill. While the state recently allocated $22 million toward the design of Phase II, it's unclear when work would actually start on that phase of the project, last estimated to cost upwards of $300 million.

More information about the bypass project is available at www.newbergdundee.org.